Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections are in widespread use for enabling communication between electronic devices. As the form factor of these electronic devices shrinks, the connectors associated with USB have shrunk as well. Micro USB (MUSB) connectors are now available.
MUSB connectors, however, can be challenging to install in small form factor devices. Creating an effective electrical ground connection between the MUSB receptacle and a grounding surface, such as an electrically conductive device cover, backplane, printed circuit board, etc., allows the USB connection to operate as designed and reduces the likelihood of device damage due to electrostatic discharge (ESD) or high voltage pulse (HVP).
It can be difficult to achieve ground USB receptacles in small form factor devices with limited interior volume. It is particularly challenging to achieve an effective, reliable and cost effective electrical ground in low profile applications such as, for example, e-book readers, cellular telephones, portable media players, laptops, netbooks, and the like.
Existing electronic devices have used conductive foam to establish a ground. However, the conductive foam cannot be easily repositioned and may not be sufficiently conductive to prevent an ESD or HVP. In existing low profile applications, grounding springs are too large to fit in the available space and/or too flimsy to establish a satisfactory ground against the grounding surface.
Conductive foam and existing grounding springs may also push back excessively during assembly. This push back complicates alignment of parts and increases the force necessary to mate parts together during assembly.